Physical States and Index Properties

of Fine-grained Soils
Consistency of clay soil (Atterberg Limits)
Determination of Atterberg Limits
Liquid Limit
Plastic Limit
Shrinkage Limit

2/19/2024 By Melkamu Abebe 1

 Consistency of Clay Soil
• Consistency is a term used to indicate the degree of firmness of
cohesive soils. The consistency of natural cohesive soil deposits is
expressed qualitatively by such terms as very soft, soft, stiff, very stiff
and hard.
• The strength and compressibility characteristics of clay soils are
highly dependent on the consistency
• The physical properties of clays greatly differ at different water
contents.
• A soil which is very soft at a higher percentage of water content
becomes very hard with a decrease in water content.
• The physical and mechanical behavior of fine-grained soils is linked to
four distinct states – solid, semisolid, plastic, and liquid – in order of
increasing water content.

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• Consistency of a soil can be expressed in terms of
Atterberg limits of soils, which are the water
contents corresponding to the transition from one state
to another

Atterberg Limits
• The transition state from the liquid state to a plastic state
is called the liquid limit, LL
• The transition from the plastic state to the semisolid state
is termed the plastic limit, PL
• The transition from the semisolid state to the solid state is
termed the shrinkage limit, SL
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• Observe the following typical plot water content Vs volume for
fine grained soils

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Different states and consistency of soils with
Atterberg limits

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 Plasticity and Plasticity Index
• It is an important behaviour of fine grained soils specially clay and
it is the ability to undergo deformation without cracking or
fracturing.
• Plasticity in soils is due to the presence of clay minerals specially
Montmorillonite clay minirals.
• Two clay soils having the same moisture content may not have the
same plasticity.
• Plasticity index(PI): indicates the degree of plasticity of a soil. The
greater the difference between liquid and plastic limits, the greater is
the plasticity of the soil.
• A cohesionless soil has zero plasticity index. Such soils are termed
non-plastic. Fat clays are highly plastic and possess a high plasticity
index.
𝑷𝑰 = 𝑳𝑳 − 𝑷𝑳
• Where: PI=plasticity index, LL=liquid limit, PL=plastic limit
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Plasticity index (According to Atterberg)

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 Liquidity Index (LI)
• Liquidity Index (LI): indicate the consistency of undisturbed soils
• The liquidity index of undisturbed soil can vary from less than zero
to greater than 1.
𝒘 − 𝑷𝑳
𝑳𝑰 =
𝑷𝑰
• Where: LI = liquidity index, PL = plastic limit, PI = plasticity
index, w = natural water content
Values of LI Description of soil strength

LI < 0 Semisolid state – high strength, brittle (sudden)

fracture is expected.
0 < LI < 1 Plastic state – intermediate strength, soil deformation
like a plastic material.
LI > 1 Liquid state – low strength, soil deforms like a
viscous fluid.
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 Atterberg limits and Mineralogy
•If montmorillonite is the predominant material, the
liquid limit can exceed 100%. Why?
•Recall that the bond between the layers in
montmorillonite is weak and large amounts of water
can easily infiltrate the spaces between the layers.
•In the case of kaolinite, the layers are held relatively
tightly and water can not easily infiltrate between the
layers in comparison with montmorillonite.
•Therefore, you can expect the Atterberg limits for
kaolinite to be, in general, much lower than either
montmorillonite or illite.

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 Activity of Clay (A) and Plasticity of Soil
• Skempton (1953) showed that for
soils with a particular mineralogy, • Activity Chart
the plasticity index is linearly
related to the amount of the clay
fraction. He coined a term called
activity (A) to describe the
importance of the clay fractions on
the plasticity index.
PI
A
Clay fraction (%)

A Description
< 0.75 Inactive
0.75 – 1.25/1.4 Normal
> 1.25/1.4
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Active By Melkamu Abebe 11
 Plasticity chart or A-chart
• We can classify the fine grained soil (Clay & Silts) using Atterberg
limits (LL, PI) and organic contents. A chart which helps us to do it,
called Plasticity chart or A-chart.

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Where; • Clay can be either OH, CH, OL or CL
C is inorganic clay • Silt can be either OH, MH, L or ML
M in organic silt
O is inorganic clay and inorganic silt • Whether Organic or not????
L is low plasticity
H is high plasticity R

Example; If the ratio is less than 0.75, then the

MH: is high plasticity inorganic silt soil organic if not, it is inorganic.
CL: is low plasticity inorganic clay
OH: is either high plasticity organic
clay or high plasticity organic silt
CL-ML: is low plasticity inorganic
clay with low plasticity inorganic silt

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 Determination of Liquid, Plastic, and Shrinkage
Limits (Atterberg limit tests)
I. Determination of Liquid limit
• There are three methods to determine the liquid limit of a fine
grained soil
a. Casagrande cup method
b. Fall cone penetrometer method
c. One point method (Reading Ass.)

a. Casagrande cup method

• The Casagrande Liquid Limit Device is used to determine the
liquid limits of soils.
• The device contains a brass cup which can be raised and allowed
to fall on a hard rubber base by turning the handle. The cup is
raised by one cm.
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Casagrande cup method

Brass Cup
Hard Rubber base
Grooving tool

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 Casagrande Cup Method-Procedure
• The limits are determined on that portion of soil finer than a No. 40 sieve
(ASTM Test Designation D-4318).
• About 100 g of soil is mixed thoroughly with distilled water (After
condensation of vapor of water) into a uniform paste.
• A portion of the paste is placed in the cup and leveled to a maximum depth
of 10 mm.
• A channel of the dimensions of 11 mm width and 8 mm depth is cut
through the sample along the symmetrical axis of the cup. The grooving
tool should always be held\ normal to the cup at the point of contact.
• The handle is turned at a rate of about two revolutions per second and
the number of blows necessary to close the groove along the bottom for a
distance of 12.5 mm is counted.
• A sample of wet soil from the cup is then taken to determine the water
content
• The liquid limit LL test may be conducted for number of blow between 15
and 35 counts
• The water content of the soil in the cup is altered and the tests repeated for
minimum of three times
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• A plot of water content against the log of blows is made
• Plot a best fitting line, which a straight line. The curve so
obtained is known as a 'flow curve'.
• Therefore, the water content corresponding to 25 blows is
termed the liquid limit (LL)
Example: If the liquid limit test is result for above soil is;
Mass of can Moisture
Mass of can Mass of can + No. of
Can No + dry soil content,
(g) wet soil (g) blows, N
(g) Ѡ (%)

T 79.43 68.50 33.97 35

36.32
L 73.65 63.78 40.70 24
39.53

S 74.15 62.40 45.12 15

36.36
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 46.00

44.00

42.00
Moisture Content ,w (%)

40.00

38.00 Ѡ = LL at N =25 is 38 %
36.00

34.00

32.00
1 10 100
No. of blows, N

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 b. Fall cone penetrometer method
• Apparatus: • The soil whose liquid limit is to be
determined is mixed well into a soft
consistency and pressed into the
cylindrical mold of 5 cm diameter and 5
cm high.
• The cone which has a central angle of 30° and
a total mass of 80 g will be kept free on the
surface of the soil
• The depth of penetration y is measured
in mm on the graduated scale after 5
seconds of penetration
• A sample of wet soil from the cup is then
taken to determine the water content
• The water content of the soil in the cup
is altered and the tests repeated for
minimum of four times
• The liquid limit LL test may be conducted for
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penetrations between 15 to 25 mm
By Melkamu Abebe 19
 • A plot of water content against the penetration in mm is made
• Therefore, the water content corresponding to 20 mm penetration is
termed as the liquid limit (LL). Example;
Mass of Mass of Can + Mass of Can + Moisture Penetration
Can No Can (gm) wet soil (gm) dry soil (gm) content (%) (mm)
10 36.32 92.18 78.38 32.81 15.8
120 36.41 92.64 77.83 35.76 19.2
44 35.89 92.33 77.04 37.16 22.3
22 37.42 92.75 76.98 39.86 25
42.00

40.00
Moisture Content ,w (%)

38.00
LL = 36% at 20 mm penetration
36.00

34.00

32.00
14 16 18 20 22 24 26
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Penetration in mm
 Applications;

• Most of the time Casagrande method is used for fine grade which as a
good plastic properties, whereas Cone Fall method is used for courser
soil which has a relatively small plasticity.

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 II. Plastic Limit determination
• About 15 g of soil, passing through a No. 40 sieve, is mixed thoroughly. The
soil is rolled on a glass plate with the hand, until it is about 3 mm in diameter.
This procedure of mixing and rolling is repeated till the soil shows signs of
crumbling. The diameter can be measured using a caliper
• The water content of the crumbled portion of the thread is determined. This
water content is called the plastic limit.
• The test is repeated at least two times and the average value of the plastic
limits in each tests is taken as the final plastic limit.
Moisture content,
Mass of Mass of can
Can No Mass of can
can (g) + wet soil (g)
+ dry soil (g) Ѡ (%)
M 41.31 43.96 43.41 26.19%
G 36.96 39.44 38.92 26.53%
PL =Average= 26.36%

• PI = 38
Ѡ%−𝟐𝟔
- 26.36. %
𝟑𝟔= 11.64 % and Classify the soil based on plasticity chart.
𝑳𝑰 =
2/19/2024 𝟏𝟏 .𝟔𝟒 By Melkamu Abebe 22
Example
• A liquid limit test conducted on a soil sample in the cup device gave
the following results.
Number of blows, 10 19 23 27 40

Water content (%) 60.0 45.2 39.8 36.5 25.2

• Two determinations for the plastic limit gave water contents of

20.3% and 20.8%. And then, determine;
(a) the liquid limit and plastic limit,
(b) the plasticity index,
(c) the liquidity index if the natural water content is 27.4 %,
(d) void ratio at the liquid limit, if Gs = 2.7. If the soil were to
be loaded to failure, would you expect a brittle failure?, and
(e) classify the soil based on plasticity chart.
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 • Solution;
64

59

54
Moisture Content, w (%)

49

44

39

34

29

24
5 50
No. of blows, N
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a. LL =37.5%
b. PL = (20.3+20.8)/2 = 20.55 %
• PI = 37.5- 20.55 = 16.95 %
c. LI = (27.4 – 20.55)/(37.55-20.55) = 0.403…… plastic state (0<LI<1)
d = 0.375 * 2.7 /(1) = 1.013
e. CL or OL

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III. Linear Shrinkage Limit (SL)

LSL

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